Page:The Grammar of Heraldry, Cussans, 1866.djvu/69

Rh entitled to bear their paternal and maternal arms, quaterly quatered: that of their father in the first and fourth quaters, and of their mother in the second and third.

As successive heiresses inter-marry with the family, they would each bring in the arms to which they are entitled; thus, an escutcheon may be charged with the bearings of an unlimited number of families.

A knight is not permitted to surround his shield, on which his own and wife's arms are combined, with the order of the garter, or any other distinction essentially pertaining to himself. In this case, the respective arms must be blazoned on two separate escutcheons, placed side by side.

Kings-at-arms and bishops bear their official arms impaled on the same shield with their hereditary insignia, the latter being placed on the sinister side.

If the daughter of a peer marry a commoner, the respective arms are not impaled, but are placed on two separate shields, side by side, the husband's towards the dexter, and the wife's towards the sinister. As, however, she retains, even after marriage, not only her title, but her maiden or widow name, she must bear her arms upon a lozenge, together with all the insignia to which her rank entitled her before such marriage. The position of peeresses is, under certain circumstances, rather anomalous. The daughters of a peer take the same rank as that of their eldest brother, during the lifetime of his father. Thus, the son and daughters of a duke would be styled marquis and marchionesses respectively. Now, supposing one daughter marries a baron—the lowest order of the nobility,—she loses three grades; but should another daughter form an alliance with a